About the Program

This MA program is designed to provide Spanish graduate students in general and current in-service teachers in particular with graduate-level coursework in Spanish language and Hispanic literature and cultures. Students have the opportunity to explore topics covering not only peninsular but also the great variety and diversity of the Hispanic world, its literatures and the diversity of its cultures.

  • Students in this program are required to take two core courses. SPAN 560 Structure of the Spanish Language is a course designed to equip students with advanced knowledge of Spanish grammar and syntax, with an emphasis on current methods to analyze language. The other required course, ML 598 Research Methods in Modern Languages, is designed to prepare students for their capstone project by discussing different areas of research in the field, as well as different methodologies that are appropriate to each. Intensive practice in academic writing is an essential part of this course.
  • Students can choose 8 elective courses from a catalog of about 15 graduate level offerings, of which the department will guarantee to offer two or three per semester.

  • The program consists of 30 credits and capstone (Plan A: Thesis; Plan B: Comprehensive Exams).
  • Students who choose Plan A are required to take the SPAN 599 course as part of the total of 30 credits they need to complete the course requirements. This course is designed to help students select and focus a research topic, prepare a review of literature, and write a thesis proposal for submission to the Dean of the Graduate School.
  • Students who choose Plan B must complete 30 credits and, in cooperation with their advisor, will create a reading list on which they will be examined. Comprehensive exams cover topics on Language, grammar and syntax, Peninsular and Latin American literatures of different periods, as well as topics of Culture pertaining to Spain and Latin America.

  • Students can choose to complete their courses exclusively online
  • Students who live in the vicinity of CCSU can choose to complete their courses with a combination of online and on ground offerings
  • Students can choose to complete their courses including the 9-credit online Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish
  • Students can choose to complete their courses including the 5-week, 9-credit Summer in Salamanca, Spain

  • Students can choose to do one, both or none of our summer programs

  • Depending on their individual life constraints, students can choose to take one or two courses per semester, adapting their pace to their lifestyle and personal situation, as long as they complete the program within a 6-year limit.